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Specimens

The works in this series begin with photo transfers of slides showing coal ash under a microscope. This abstracted depiction is layered with larger then life representations of animals which are native to areas affected by coal ash leaching from decommissioned ponds. In specimen 12 a small cluster of swallowtail butterflies were photographed on the Dan River, where in 2014 a large coal ash spill turned the river grey. The choice to title the pieces as if they are scientific studies references the microscope images being utilized, however the number system is not chronological. In Specimen 12, the 12 refers to the average life span of an adult swallowtail.  In Specimen 6, the 6 refers to the number of sub-species of frogs that are native to the North Carolina/ Virginia region that the Dan River flows through. 

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